He was predicted to become a brilliant lawyer or even a judge. And he dreamed of becoming a famous writer, with serious and thoughtful works under his belt. His track record includes treatises, poems, and philosophical reflections, but they did not leave the name of Charles Perrault for centuries. He remained a great storyteller, the author of the immortal “Cinderella”, “Puss in Boots”, “Sleeping Beauty”.

In Perrault's time, fairy tales were something frivolous. There wasn’t even such a genre, stories for children existed only in oral form, everyone told them in their own way, adding their own characters, details, plot twists. Academician and author of numerous treatises Charles Perrault did not admit the authorship of fairy tales. The works were signed with the name of his son, Pierre Perrault. And even in the dying memoirs there is not a single word about “Cinderella” or “Bluebeard”.

Childhood

The future storyteller was born in Paris on January 12, 1628, into a very wealthy family. Father - Pierre Perrault - a judge of the capital's parliament, mother - Paquette-Leclerc came from a noble French family and was a very educated and rich woman. Charles is the sixth child in the family, he was born with a twin brother, Francois, who was several hours older. Unfortunately, Francois will die at the age of six months.

Charles grows up as a nimble and inquisitive child. My favorite toy as a child was a medieval castle. It was a large building the size of a child, where one could move freely. Charles sits inside the castle for hours, imagining himself as a great and brave knight.

Education

The education of children in the Perrault family is given great attention. Not only invited tutors and teachers work with them, but also parents. The future writer was taught to read by his mother. All children will subsequently rise high up the career ladder and make a brilliant career. Son Jean will become a famous lawyer, Nicolas will become a professor at the Sorbonne, Claude will become an architect who will design the Louvre, and Pierre will become the general collector of finances of Paris.

The younger Charles studies at home until he is eight and a half years old. Then his parents send him to the famous Beauvais College at the Faculty of Arts. Young Perrault studies well; it is known that during the years of training he was never beaten with rods, this indicates extremely exemplary behavior and diligence. But in 1644, in the 8th year of study, after an argument with the teacher, Charles left the lesson and did not return to college. “He (the teacher) ordered me to be silent, to which, rising from my seat, I answered him that since I was not allowed to answer, that since no one would argue with me anymore, then I had nothing more to do in the class. I bowed to the teacher and all the students and left the class.”

His friend Boren also leaves with Perrault. They decide to educate themselves and create their own lesson plan. They read a lot, the Bible, Virgil, Horace, History of France are on the list, they translate from Latin, and they debate. Over the years, Perrault will say that it was these 3-4 years that gave him a lot in terms of education. Charles then takes private lessons in law and obtains a lawyer's license.

Career

In his specialty, Charles Perrault practically does not work; he successfully defends two cases, after which he gets a job as a clerk in the architectural office of his brother Claude. The fact is that Perrault's father is dying and no one insists on practicing law anymore. Charles successfully combines his paperwork with the start of his writing career. The first works are long, cumbersome, and do not contain much meaning; the author pays attention to form rather than content.

Soon Charles Perrault falls under the protection of the powerful Jean Colbert, close Louis XIV, it is this person who dictates the palace policy in the field of arts. Colbert creates the Academy of Bells and Letters, appointing Charles Perrault as its secretary. Later, the writer becomes an active member of this academy and receives the title of nobleman.

In the literary field

Charles Perrault dreams of gaining fame as a serious author, a virtuoso of the pen. He works hard, creating one after another works that correspond to the spirit of the times. So he writes a treatise “Comparison of ancient and modern”, where he very vividly proves that modern authors are no worse than ancient ones. “Why value the ancients? Just because they are ancient? So we are the same, because nowadays the world is more mature, and we also have more experience.”

• “The Famous”, a book that became a natural continuation of the treatise. This is a huge volume in which Perrault collected biographies of prominent French figures of the 17th century;
• In 1653, the author wrote a parody poem, The Wall of Troy, or the Origin of Burlesque;
• In 1687 he created historical poem"The Age of Louis the Great";
• In 1694, the satire “Apology for Women” and the story “Amusing Desires” were published;
• In 1703, Charles Perrault, a few months before his death, began writing his Memoirs;
• The writer is also one of the authors of the “Universal Dictionary French».

Storyteller Perrault

During his lifetime, Charles Perrault never mentioned that he was the author of fairy tales. First, “The Sleeping Beauty,” published in 1696 in the magazine “Gallant Mercury,” and then the entire collection of “Tales of Mother Goose” (1697) was published under the name of Pierre Perrault de Armancourt, the youngest son of the writer. De Armancourt is the prefix of an estate that belonged to the family.

And only after the death of Charles Perrault, it was proven that he was the author of fairy tales. Although some were confident in their son’s writing talent. Disputes on this topic have not subsided to this day. But it is generally accepted that it was Perrault the father who wrote the famous fairy tales.

It seemed that Charles had done nothing special. He simply retold the stories existing among the people, and only one fairy tale, “Rike with the Tuft,” was invented by himself. But the collection, even during Perrault’s lifetime, sold like hot cakes. It has been estimated that it was more popular than Harry Potter today. The thing is that in the 17th century children's literature did not exist at all. The kids learned to read from books for adults. Fairy tales that came from the Middle Ages resembled more bloodthirsty horror stories than fascinating stories and were transmitted only orally.

This section is dedicated to the writer Charles Perrault and his fairy tales for children.

Tales of Charles Perrault read

Life story of Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault was born in Paris in 1628 big family and was youngest son. His family was already known at that time. Charles's father worked in parliament and was an eminent lawyer; his three older brothers also distinguished themselves, some in jurisprudence and some in architecture. At the age of 9, Charles Perrault was sent to college. Throughout his studies, he was an exemplary student both in behavior and in grades, but still he dropped out of the college where he studied and began self-education. Charles Perrault's soul was not in the law and, although he worked as a lawyer, his practice did not last long. Charles turned to his brother for help and he hired him as his secretary, but Pierrot had already written several works by that time and, with his head in the clouds, did not stay with his brother for long. Fortunately, the poems he published in 1659 brought him success. His career began to take off, Charles was even allowed to join Louis 14th with his poems.

In 1663, it so happened that Charles was hired by the Minister of Finance for the same position of secretary. After 8 years, Perrault was already at the French Academy of the Royal Palace. Charles was interested in cultural Savor, he continued to write actively and for a long time. Soon future famous writer met a girl named Marie and married her. Marie bore him three sons, but died during the last birth. This was a deep shock for Charles; he never married again, but raised and raised his sons himself.

The year 1683 was significant and turning point for Charles Perrault. That year he quit his job and was given an excellent pension, on which he could live comfortably until the end of his days.

Having received so much free time, Perrault began to write. This period can be called the heyday of his creativity. His works are poems in verse and short stories. And one day he got the idea to tell some folk tales literary language, in such a way that they attract adults as well, and not just children. Sleeping Beauty was the first to be born, and already in 1697 his collection of fairy tales, Tales of Mother Goose, was published. All fairy tales are folk tales, except one, Rike - Khokholok, which he wrote himself. The rest were simply written down by him, but at the same time they brought unprecedented fame to the writer himself and popularity to the genre of fairy tales in general. Charles Perrault's fairy tales are pleasant and easy to read, because they are written in excellent literary language, which raised the level of perception of fairy tales to a higher level.

Interesting fact: The fairy tales of Charles Perrault were published under the name of his son, and for a long time there were disputes about authorship, but the most likely state of affairs still remains familiar to us.

The works of Charles Perrault

We know Charles Perrault as a writer and storyteller, but during his life he was better known as a poet and academician of the French Academy (at that time this was very honorable). Charles's scientific works were even published.

Charles Perrault was partly lucky to begin writing at a time when fairy tales were becoming popular genre. Many sought to record folk art, to preserve it, transport it in written form and thereby make it accessible to many. Please note that in those days such a concept in literature as fairy tales for children did not exist at all. Mostly these were stories of grandmothers, nannies, and some understood philosophical reflections as a fairy tale.

It was Charles Perrault who recorded several fairy tales so that they were transferred over time to the genres of high literature. Only this author knew how to write serious reflections in simple language, add humorous notes and put into the work all the talent of a true master writer. As mentioned earlier, Charles Perrault published a collection of fairy tales under the name of his son. The explanation for this is simple: if the academician of the French Academy Perrault published a collection of fairy tales, he could be considered frivolous and frivolous and he could lose a lot.

Charles's amazing life brought him fame as a lawyer, poet and storyteller. This man was talented in everything.

In the department rare books The scientific library of MPGU stores domestic publications of the 19th – 20th centuries. fairy tales of Charles Perrault, whose name is known in Russia no less (and sometimes more) than the names of storytellers Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and Wilhelm Hauff.

Biography of the writer.

On January 12, 1628, in the French city of Paris, twins were born into the family of Pierre Perrault (who already had four sons - Jean, Pierre, Claude and Nicolas), who were named Francois and Charles. Francois lived only a few months, and Charles was destined long life and immortal glory.

In the Perrault family, teaching was highly respected and the parents sought to give all their sons a good education: the mother of the family, an educated woman, herself taught her sons to read and write; and when the youngest, Charles, at the age of eight began to study at Beauvais College, his father, a lawyer by profession, himself checked his sons’ lessons. According to the French historian Philippe Ariès (1914 – 1984; mainly engaged in the history of everyday life, family and childhood), school biography Perrault - biography of a typical excellent student; During their training, none of the Perrault brothers were ever beaten with rods, which at that time was considered an exception.

But still, in 1641, for arguing with teachers, Charles and his schoolmate Borin were kicked out of classes, and they decided to engage in self-education: the boys studied from 8 to 11 in the morning, then had lunch, rested and studied again from 3 to 5 in the afternoon; They read ancient authors together, studied the history of France, studied Greek and Latin - that is, what they would have studied in college. As Charles Perrault later wrote, “If I know anything, I owe it solely to these three or four years of study”. After Charles Perrault during three years takes private law lessons, obtains a law degree and purchases a lawyer's license; but Perrault Jr. did not work in his specialty for long, and soon became a clerk for his brother, the architect Claude Perrault (1665 - 1680).

The desperate debater subsequently found use for his talent during the dispute between the “ancients” and the “new”. In the 17th century, the prevailing point of view was that ancient writers, poets and scientists created the most perfect, most best works, while the “new” ones, that is, contemporaries, can only imitate the “ancient” ones, since they are not able to create anything better, and therefore the main thing for a poet, playwright, and scientist was considered to be the desire to be like ancient examples.

With the poet, critic and classicist theorist Nicolas Boileau (Nicola Boileau-Depreo; 11/01/1636 – 03/13/1711), author of the treatise « Poetic art» , in which he established the “laws” of writing works so that everything would be exactly like the ancient writers, Perrault categorically disagreed (“Why do we respect the ancients so much? Just for their antiquity? We ourselves are ancient, because in our time the world has become older, we have more experience”). His treatise "Comparison of Ancient and Modern" caused a storm of indignation among adherents of the “ancients”: they began to accuse Perrault of being self-taught, criticizing the ancients only because, not knowing Greek and Latin, he was not familiar with their works.

To prove that his contemporaries were no worse and to give him the opportunity to become like his contemporaries, Perrault published a huge volume "Famous(or, in some translations, the Great Ones) people of France XVII century» , where he collected more than a hundred biographies of famous scientists, poets, historians, surgeons, and artists.

Also, Charles Perrault is an academician of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Beaux-Letters, who led the work on the “General Dictionary of the French Language”, lawyer and clerk of the French Minister of Finance under Louis XIV, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (08/29/1619 – 09/06/1683), for his services Charles Perrault received the title of nobleman. He was also famous poet of his time, the author of several scientific works, as well as a number of works of art:

1653 – parody poem in verse “ The Wall of Troy, or the Origin of Burlesque"(Les murs de Troue ou l'Origine du burlesque)

1687 – didactic poem "The Age of Louis the Great"(Le Siecle de Louis le Grand), read at the French Academy, which marked the beginning of the “dispute about the ancients and the modern.” and opposes imitation and the long-established worship of antiquity, arguing that contemporaries, the “new” ones, surpassed the “ancients” in literature and in the sciences and that this is proven literary history France and recent scientific discoveries

1691 - a fairy tale in verse "Griselda"(Griselde) (poetic adaptation of the 10th short story of the X day, the short story “The Decameron” by Boccaccio).

1694 – satire "Apology for Women"(Apologie des femmes) and a poetic story in the form of medieval fabliaux "Funny Desires".

In the same year, a poetic tale was written "Donkey Skin"(Peau d'ane)

1696 – fairy tale published anonymously "Sleeping Beauty", which for the first time embodied the features of a new type fairy tales: it is written in prose and is accompanied by a poetic moral teaching, addressed to adults, but not devoid of irony (Perrault wrote about his fairy tales that they are higher than ancient ones because they contain moral instructions). Gradually in the fairy tale, the fantastic beginning turns into a primary element, which is reflected in the title (the exact translation of La Bella au bois dormant - "Beauty in the Sleeping Forest").

1697 – collection published "Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Old Times with Moral Lessons", containing 9 works that were literary adaptations folk tales

1703 – "Memoirs" Perrault, written a few months before his death, in which he covers all the most important events his life and work, but does not mention fairy tales.

In 1683, Perrault quit his job and was given a good pension, on which he could live comfortably until the end of his days. And having received a large number of free time, Perrault began to write. And one day the idea occurred to him to present some folk tales in literary language, so that they would attract the interest of both adults and children. The author managed to achieve this by presenting serious thoughts in simple language. Almost all of Perrault's tales are literary records folk legends and fairy tales that he often heard in the kitchen as a child, except for one: "Rike with Tuft" Perrault composed it himself.

In 1696, when Perrault was 68 years old, the tale was published anonymously in the magazine “Gallant Mercury” (Amsterdam). "Sleeping Beauty", and the next year, 1897, a small book with simple pictures called “Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Old Times with Teachings”, which soon gained incredible success.

But at first, Perrault did not dare to sign the fairy tales with his own name and published under the name of his son Pierre d'Armancourt (at one time there were even disputes in literary criticism that the fairy tales really belonged to the pen of his son, but during the investigation these assumptions were not confirmed; despite the fact that Pierre, on the advice of his father, began to write down folk tales and Charles Perrault himself in his memoirs, published only in 1909, does not mention the true author of the literary recording of fairy tales), since Charles Perrault considered himself a serious writer, and writing fairy tales could ruin his reputation .

However folklore plot s, presented by Perrault in an “ennobled” language with inherent talent and humor, omitting some details and adding new ones, began to enjoy high popularity and the demand for fairy tales only increased, and therefore they began to be considered real art and subsequently had a significant influence on the development of the world fairy tale tradition: in particular, “Tales of Mother Goose” were the first book written specifically for children(in those days, children were taught to read from books for adults).

Perrault's merit lies in the fact that he selected several stories from the mass of folk tales and fixed their plot, which at that time was not yet final, and gave them a personal style, at the same time characteristic of the 17th century. They are magical and realistic at the same time: if you want to know what fashion was in 1697, read "Cinderella"(after all, the sisters, when going to the ball, dress in the latest fashion); If you want to listen to what a woodcutter's family said in the 17th century, contact "To Thumb", and you can hear the princess in "Sleeping Beauty"; Puss in Boots is a clever guy from the people who, thanks to his own cunning and resourcefulness, not only arranges the fate of his master, but also becomes “important person”- after all “he no longer catches mice, except sometimes for fun”, and Little Thumb practically does not forget in last moment pull a bag of gold out of the Ogre's pocket, thereby saving his family from starvation.

Tales of Charles Perrault.

Despite his scientific and literary merits, it was his fairy tales that brought Charles Perrault worldwide fame. "Puss in Boots", "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Tom Thumb", "Blue Beard" appeal not only to children, but also to adults, and are reflected in world culture in operas (“The Castle of Duke Bluebeard” by the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok; the Italian opera buffa “Cinderella, or the Triumph of Virtue” by Gioachino Rossini), ballets (“The Sleeping Beauty” Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; “Cinderella” by Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev), dramatic performances, animated films and films.

Charles Perrault's fairy tales were often illustrated by great artists, for example, the French engraver, illustrator and painter Gustav (Gustave) Doré (1832 - 1883).

The Rare Books Department of the Moscow State Pedagogical University Scientific Library contains publications with Doré engravings:

Perrault's fairy tales. / Translation from French by Ivan Turgenev. Drawings by Gustav Doré. – St. Petersburg, Moscow: Publishing house of bookseller and typographer M. O. Wolf, 1867.

Perrault. Puss in Boots: A Fairy Tale for Little Children. Illustrations by Gustav Doré. Colored drawings by artist V. Mel (Book Publishing House "Odespoligraf").

Perrault. Little Thumb: A Fairy Tale for Little Children. Illustrations by Gustav Doré. Colored drawings by the artist S. Goldman (Book Publishing House "Odespoligraf").

Fairy tales of Charles Perrault in Russia.

For the first time in Russian, the tales of Charles Perrault were published in Moscow in 1768 under the title "Tales of Sorceresses with Moral Teachings". They were titled somewhat unusually for the modern ear: "The Tale of the Girl with the Little Red Riding Hood", "The Tale of a Certain Man with a Blue Beard", "The Tale of Father the Cat in Spurs and Boots", "The Tale of the Beauty Sleeping in the Forest" …

Later, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Charles Perrault's tales were published under titles more familiar to modern readers:

Perrault. Little Red Riding Hood. Puss in Boots. Sleeping Beauty. Blue Beard. / Per. from French by B. D. Prozorovskaya. – St. Petersburg: Type. T-va “Public Benefit”, 1897. – (Illustrated fairy-tale library of F. Pavlenkov; No. 81).

Puss in Boots: A Tale: With six colored pictures. –

[Moscow]: Publishing house of I. D. Sytin,

Despite the love of readers, for Charles Perrault the road to elite turned out to be closed: scientific colleagues did not like Professor Perrault for writing fairy tales, and the nobility closed the doors of their houses in front of him.

But this was not the only reason. Once, during a street fight, the writer's son, Pierre, a nobleman by status, stabbed the commoner Guilloia Coll, the son of a carpenter's widow, which at that time was considered an extremely immoral act. As a result, the young man ended up in prison.

Thanks to his money and connections, Charles Perrault rescued his son from prison and bought him the rank of lieutenant in the king's regiment, but this seriously ruined the family's reputation.

During the next battle, the young man died.

Charles Perrault died in 1703, tired and exhausted, hating his fairy tales and taking the secret of their authorship to the grave.

The tales of Charles Perrault are still loved by both children and adults, and in the 21st century they are published in various combinations with new illustrations (for example, on the subscription fiction in the building of the humanities faculties of the Moscow State University Scientific Library you can find “Tales of Mother Goose” with illustrations by Yu. Boyarsky;

and a book of Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault with illustrations by Anna Vlasova).

Could a poet and scientist have thought in his time that his name would be glorified throughout the centuries not by poems and scientific treatises, but by a thin book of fairy tales?...

Fablio, fabliaux (from Latin fabula - fable, story. Old French fableaux, fabliaux - plural from fablel - “fable”; fabliaux form is dialectic) - one of the genres of French urban literature XII- the beginning of the 14th century, which is a short poetic novella, the purpose of which is to entertain and instruct listeners.

When writing this article, materials from the following sites were used:

Interesting illustrations for fairy tales by Charles Perrault and others famous storytellers can be found at the link:

French poet and critic of the classical era

short biography

Career

He was born into the family of the judge of the Parisian Parliament, Pierre Perrault, and was the youngest of his six children (his twin brother Francois was born with him, who died 6 months later). Of his brothers, Claude Perrault was famous architect, author of the eastern façade of the Louvre (1665-1680). He studied at Beauvais University College, which, however, he left before finishing his studies. He bought a lawyer's license, but soon left this position and became a clerk for his brother, the architect Claude Perrault.

He enjoyed the confidence of Jean Colbert; in the 1660s, he largely determined the policy of the court of Louis XIV in the field of arts. Thanks to Colbert, Perrault was appointed secretary of the newly formed Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Letters in 1663. Perrault was also the controller general of the Surinentate of the royal buildings. After the death of his patron (1683), he fell out of favor and lost the pension paid to him as a writer, and in 1695 he also lost his position as secretary.

Creation

Portrait of Charles Perrault at the age of 66 and wearing the robe of a member of the French Academy. Engraving, 1694.
Widely attributed to the Brothers Grimm fairy tales as we know them today, " Little Red Riding Hood», « sleeping Beauty" And " Cinderella”, were actually written by Charles Perrault about 200 years ago before their new transcription. The first in this row is still the storyteller Giambattista Basile (1566-1632).

Perrault was a fairly prolific writer (his first work was an irocomic poem "The Walls of Troy, or the Origin of Burlesque", 1653), but his works of art, with the exception of fairy tales, were soon forgotten. He entered the history of literature as the main ideologist of the “new” movement in the debate about the ancients and the new. Perrault's main program texts - poem "The Age of Louis the Great"(1687) and dialogues "Parallels between the ancient and the modern in matters of art and science", vol. 1-4, 1688-97. Perrault believed that the art of Louis's century far surpassed that of antiquity and should develop further; He contrasted the idea of ​​an unchanging ideal with the idea of ​​progressive progress of art, going hand in hand with the progress of sciences and crafts. He preferred prose over poetry and believed that the successor to the ancient epic was the novel.

Fairy tales

Fairy tale " Mr. Cat, or Puss in Boots" The first handwritten and illustrated edition of the collection " Tales of Mother Goose", 1695

In 1697 he published the collection “Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and Tales of Bygone Times with Instructions.” The collection contained 8 fairy tales, which were literary adaptations of folk tales (believed to have been heard from the nurse of Perrault’s son) - except for one (“Riquet the Tuft”), composed by Perrault himself. This book made Perrault widely famous outside the literary circle. In fact, Perrault introduced the folk tale into the system of genres of “high” literature.

"Fairy tales" contributed to the democratization of literature and influenced the development of the world fairy tale tradition (brothers W. and J. Grimm, L. Tieck, H. C. Andersen). Perrault's fairy tales were first published in Russian in Moscow in 1768 under the title “Tales of Sorceresses with Moral Teachings.” Operas based on the plots of Perrault's fairy tales "Cinderella" G. Rossini, "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" B. Bartok, ballets "Sleeping Beauty" P.I. Tchaikovsky, "Cinderella" S. S. Prokofiev and others. According to French historians, some fairy tale characters had real prototypes from the owners of castles, including Uaron.

Question about authorship

Perrault published his fairy tales not under own name, and under the name of his 19-year-old son Perrault d’Armancourt, apparently trying to protect his already established literary reputation from accusations of working with the “low” genre of fairy tales. Perrault’s son, who added to his surname the name of the Armancourt castle purchased by his father, tried to get a job as a secretary for “Mademoiselle” (the king’s niece, Princess of Orleans), to whom the book was dedicated.

Confession

Charles Perrault was fourth after H. C. Andersen, D. London and the Brothers Grimm in terms of publishing in the USSR foreign writer for 1917-1987: the total circulation of 300 publications amounted to 60.798 million copies.

And also wonderful fairy tales, etc. For more than three hundred years, all the children of the world love and know these fairy tales.

Tales of Charles Perrault

View full list fairy tales

Biography of Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault- famous French writer-storyteller, poet and critic of the era of classicism, member of the French Academy since 1671, now known mainly as the author of " Tales of Mother Goose».

Name Charles Perrault is one of the most popular names of storytellers in Russia, along with the names of Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Hoffmann. Perrault’s marvelous fairy tales from Mother Goose’s collection of fairy tales: “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Puss in Boots”, “Tom Thumb”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Bluebeard” are glorified in Russian music, ballets, films, theatrical performances, in painting and graphics dozens and hundreds of times.

Charles Perrault born January 12, 1628 in Paris, in the wealthy family of the judge of the Parisian Parliament, Pierre Perrault, and was the youngest of his seven children (his twin brother Francois was born with him, who died 6 months later). Of his brothers, Claude Perrault was a famous architect, author of the eastern façade of the Louvre (1665-1680).

The boy's family was concerned about the education of their children, and at the age of eight, Charles was sent to Beauvais College. As historian Philippe Ariès notes, the school biography of Charles Perrault is the biography of a typical excellent student. During their training, neither he nor his brothers were ever beaten with rods - an exceptional case at that time. Charles Perrault dropped out of college without finishing his studies.

After college Charles Perrault takes private law lessons for three years and eventually receives a law degree. He bought a lawyer's license, but soon left this position and became a clerk for his brother, the architect Claude Perrault.

He enjoyed the confidence of Jean Colbert; in the 1660s, he largely determined the policy of the court of Louis XIV in the field of arts. Thanks to Colbert, Charles Perrault was appointed secretary of the newly formed Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Letters in 1663. Perrault was also the controller general of the Surinentate of the royal buildings. After the death of his patron (1683), he fell out of favor and lost the pension paid to him as a writer, and in 1695 he also lost his position as secretary.

1653 – first work Charles Perrault- parody poem “The Wall of Troy, or the Origin of Burlesque” (Les murs de Troue ou l’Origine du burlesque).

1687 - Charles Perrault reads his didactic poem “The Age of Louis the Great” (Le Siecle de Louis le Grand) at the French Academy, which marked the beginning of a long-term “dispute about the ancients and the modern”, in which Nicolas Boileau became Perrault’s most fierce opponent. Perrault opposes imitation and the long-established worship of antiquity, arguing that the “new” contemporaries surpassed the “ancients” in literature and science, and that this is proven by the literary history of France and recent scientific discoveries.

1691 – Charles Perrault addresses the genre for the first time fairy tales and writes "Griselde". This is a poetic adaptation of Boccaccio’s short story that concludes the Decameron (10th short story of the X day). In it, Perrault does not break with the principle of verisimilitude; there is no magical fantasy here, just as there is no national coloring. folklore tradition. The tale has a salon-aristocratic character.

1694 – satire “Apology for Women” (Apologie des femmes) and a poetic story in the form of medieval fabliaux “Amusing Desires”. At the same time, the fairy tale “Donkey Skin” (Peau d’ane) was written. It is still written in verse, in the spirit of poetic short stories, but its plot is already taken from a folk tale that was then widespread in France. Although there is nothing fantastic in the fairy tale, fairies appear in it, which violates the classic principle of verisimilitude.

1695 – releasing his fairy tales, Charles Perrault in the preface he writes that his tales are higher than the ancient ones, because, unlike the latter, they contain moral instructions.

1696 – the fairy tale “The Sleeping Beauty” was anonymously published in the magazine “Gallant Mercury”, which for the first time fully embodied the features of a new type of fairy tale. It is written in prose, with a poetic moral teaching attached to it. The prose part can be addressed to children, the poetic part - only to adults, and the moral lessons are not without playfulness and irony. In the fairy tale, fantasy turns from a secondary element into a leading one, which is already noted in the title (La Bella au bois dormant, exact translation - “The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest”).

Perrault's literary activity occurred at a time when high society a fashion for fairy tales appears. Reading and listening to fairy tales is becoming one of the most common hobbies secular society, comparable only to the reading of detective stories by our contemporaries. Some prefer to listen philosophical tales, others pay tribute to ancient fairy tales, passed down in the retellings of grandmothers and nannies. Writers, trying to satisfy these demands, write down fairy tales, processing plots familiar to them from childhood, and the oral fairy tale tradition gradually begins to turn into a written one.

1697 – a collection of fairy tales is published Tales of Mother Goose, or Stories and tales of bygone times with moral teachings" (Contes de ma mere Oye, ou Histores et contesdu temps passe avec des moralites). The collection contained 9 fairy tales, which were literary adaptations of folk tales (believed to have been heard from the nurse of Perrault’s son) - except for one (“Riquet the Tuft”), composed by Charles Perrault himself. This book made Perrault widely famous outside the literary circle. Actually Charles Perrault entered folk tale into the system of genres of “high” literature.

However, Perrault did not dare to publish the fairy tales under his own name, and the book he published bore the name of his eighteen-year-old son, P. Darmancourt. He feared that, with all the love for “fairy-tale” entertainment, writing fairy tales would be perceived as a frivolous activity, casting a shadow with its frivolity on the authority of a serious writer.

It turns out that in philological science There is still no exact answer to the elementary question: who wrote the famous fairy tales?

The fact is that when the book of Mother Goose's fairy tales was first published, and it happened in Paris on October 28, 1696, the author of the book was identified in the dedication as a certain Pierre D Armancourt.

However, in Paris they quickly learned the truth. Under the magnificent pseudonym D Armancourt was hiding none other than the youngest and beloved son of Charles Perrault, nineteen-year-old Pierre. For a long time it was believed that the writer’s father resorted to this trick only to introduce the young man into high society, specifically into the circle of the young Princess of Orleans, niece of King Louis the Sun. After all, the book was dedicated to her. But later it turned out that young Perrault, on the advice of his father, wrote down some folk tales, and there are documentary references to this fact.

In the end, he completely confused the situation himself Charles Perrault.

Shortly before his death, the writer wrote memoirs in which he described in detail all the more or less important affairs of his life: service with Minister Colbert, editing the first General Dictionary of the French Language, poetic odes in honor of the king, translations of the fables of the Italian Faerno, a three-volume book of research on the comparison of ancient authors with new ones creators. But nowhere in his own biography did Perrault say a word about the authorship of the phenomenal tales of Mother Goose, a unique masterpiece of world culture.

Meanwhile, he had every reason to include this book in the register of victories. The book of fairy tales was an unprecedented success among the Parisians in 1696; every day 20-30, and sometimes 50 books a day were sold in Claude Barbin's shop! This, on the scale of one store, was probably not even dreamed of today even by the bestseller about Harry Potter.

The publisher repeated the print run three times during the year. This was unheard of. First France, then the whole of Europe fell in love with magical stories about Cinderella, her evil sisters and glass slipper, re-read a scary fairy tale about the knight Bluebeard, who killed his wives, was rooting for the polite Little Red Riding Hood, who was swallowed by an evil wolf. (Only in Russia did the translators correct the ending of the fairy tale; here the wolf is killed by woodcutters, and in the French original the wolf ate both the grandmother and granddaughter).

In fact, Mother Goose's tales became the world's first book written for children. Before this, no one had specifically written books for children. But then children's books came in an avalanche. From Perrault's masterpiece the phenomenon of children's literature itself was born!

Huge merit Perrault in that he chose from the mass of folk fairy tales several stories and recorded their plot, which has not yet become final. He gave them a tone, a climate, a style that was characteristic of the 17th century, and yet very personal.

At the core fairy tales by Perrault- well-known folklore plots, which he presented with his usual talent and humor, omitting some details and adding new ones, “ennobling” the language. Most of all these fairy tales suitable for children. And it is Perrault who can be considered the founder of world children's literature and literary pedagogy.

“Fairy tales” contributed to the democratization of literature and influenced the development of the world fairy tale tradition (brothers W. and J. Grimm, L. Tieck, G. H. Andersen). Perrault's fairy tales were first published in Russian in Moscow in 1768 under the title “Tales of Sorceresses with Moral Teachings.” Based on the plots of Perrault's fairy tales, the operas “Cinderella” by G. Rossini, “The Castle of Duke Bluebeard” by B. Bartok, the ballets “The Sleeping Beauty” by P. I. Tchaikovsky, “Cinderella” by S. S. Prokofiev and others were created.